Women in PR....Never say NEVER

In this class I adamantly debated that women will never run PR even though they are always going to be a part of the industry. Do I believe this….of course not! PR was once considered a male dominated industry. Firstly, just to get something off my chest, who decides what are ‘male’ professions and ‘female’ professions? Women are capable of doing what men do and vice versa. The operative word here being ‘capable’.
Forget about the movie the Devil Wears Prada (even though it highlights the perils of the industry that forces one to neglect their social life) or Sex and the City’s Samantha. The PR industry is a very ruthless and demanding field. Surely one must have the guts and will power to avoid succumbing to the pressures of the industry. Will power and determination is not gender selective. Therefore, my point is, even though I so convincingly argued that women don’t possess these traits, I believe we do. Women are slowly breaking the glass ceiling in many professions and PR is no difference. Studies have shown that the industry is now over populated with women, even though men are currently running it. With that said, bear in mind that it PR was predominantly a ‘male’ profession. Now more and more females are entering, thus tilting the balance. However, Martha Lauzen argues her encroachment theory, which takes place when firms hire people from outside the industry to take up management roles. This I believe is one of the reasons for women not excelling to the top of the PR industry – not because she is weak and emotional and gets PMS. Additionally, the massive influx of male journalists switching over into the PR world needs to be accounted for.

Even though Larissa Grunig’s studies are that of perceptions, she does make a good case. She argues that if feminism has led to deflating of salaries and status of women, then the problem is with society devaluating the role of women and not with women themselves.

Studies have shown that women are also well equipped for business life as they display assertiveness, confidence, risk-taking attitudes and the accountability necessary for success (2000, p.94). However, men continue to dominate the sector. This is particularly true among the large London-based agencies, where a major proportion of directors and chief executives are male and continue to seize the high ground, having worked their way up through the industry since their domination during the 1980s (icBirmingham.co.uk).

Regardless, women are working their way to the top and currently there are women in top positions. With more women graduating with PR degrees there is bound to be a take over. So wake up! We are coming atcha!


References:

Grunig, Larissa Excellence in public relations and communication management http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=OS_nI4qbpQoC&pg=PA419&lpg=PA419&dq=larissa+grunig+women+in+PR&source=bl&ots=SY-kcpBnFQ&sig=gIisLRa8XHFq2RqcT-IPiacM-Nk&hl=en&ei=G77TSf37I6PNjAfL8_X2Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPA417,M1 [Accessed Mar. 31, 2009]

icBirmingham.co.uk Women in Business Oct. 21, 2004 Why Women dominate the PR industry
http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0150business/womeninbusiness/tm_objectid=14780965&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=why-women-dominate-pr-profession-name_page.html [Accessed Mar. 31, 2009]

Wilcox, Dennis, Philip Ault et al Public Relations Strategies and Tactics 6th ed. Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc. 2000

Can PR ever be Ethical?

If you hold the switch to a train loaded with criminals that’s about to run off track and kill five people, would you pull the switch and send the train crashing in to the five innocent hardworking people, or would you allow the train to run off track killing all the criminals? This was the question posed at the start of this lecture. Without hesitation I said ‘I would run away’. I wanted no part in it. I believe it is not for me to decide whose lives are worth more.

Ethical values in PR are well known to cause debates. Most professional organizations have codes of ethics. These documents are supposed to set acceptable norms of behaviour for working professionals and employers.

PR and ethics don’t usually go hand in hand.The public has a right to be told the truth and this is something that PR practitioners often neglect. On the contrary, Ian Somerville (Public Relations Handbook, 2001) used the theory of Utilitarianism to suggest that an action is right only to the extent that it is for the greater good. He justifies the notion of lying to the public as conceivable when a lie is told to protect the reputation of a corporation and consequently jobs. Hmmm…who then decides what’s best for the greater good? The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) code of ethics definitely doesn’t.

It is considerable much harder to regulate the PR industry than any other. The reputation of ‘spin’ has once again raised its ugly head as Practitioners are capable of spinning out of any given situation. According to the CIPR’s principles (Section A), ‘Members of the CIPR agree to deal honestly and fairly in business with employers, employees, clients and fellow professionals other professions and the public.’ Does the name Alistair Campbell and Max Clifford ring a bell? These two are perfect examples that the CIPR’s code of conduct is not very effective. What then does the CIPR do? I mean the CIPR’s list of complaint procedures and court proceeding have done very little to deter practitioners from carrying out cigarette campaigns. What is the ethical stance on that CIPR? Is it for the ‘greater good’? What is the CIPR’s view on getting ‘chummy’ with journalists so they can write a good a story about your organization? Maybe there should be a different set of rules then….oh wait! The PRSA has some. It is just that they are quite the same. I wonder whose idea to put these messages across about Tobacco. Watch this video carefully and tell me what you think?

References:

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations, CIPR Code of Conduct http://www.cipr.co.uk/membership/conduct/CodeofConduct_091106.pdf [Accessed March 30, 2009]

Theaker, Alison The Public Relations Handbook Routledge 2001

Lights, Camera, SPIN!..The all Important Image Management

‘Among the many considerations that show what a man is, none is more important than seeing how easily he swallows what he is being told or how carefully he wants to convince others of.’

This quote from the Julia Hobsbawn (ed) says it all. The media is somewhat dependent on what they are told by PR practitioners. As a result journalists are often times frustrated that they never get to speak to the person directly and this arouses suspicion.


In this class, we learnt about the ways in which governments manage and control their image in the public sphere. From coming out the house with a family portrait on a coffee mug to having their faces powdered before getting off the plane. It’s all for the love of the media. Well, it does make sense, because taxpayer’s money is at risk. The people put the government in power and so it is fair that they project the best image in the public.

Gordon Brown, unlike his predecessor, Tony Blair have opted to take a back stance in terms of the media, however, that didn’t stop him from appearing with a big blob of orange makeup on his forehead at a Summit in London. Regardless, I believe it is the media who should be blamed for the mayhem that has led to PR being called ‘Spin’. Journalists set the News agenda and therefore, they make the news what they want it to be. So who is the true ‘spin’ doctor here? Many journalists have reduced PR practitioners to the conniving sneaky ways of Alistair Campbell, but practitioners do this because of you MEDIA. Practitioners are often forced to be selective in what they say do, and maybe even think! Journalists are always looking for a story and they will get it whether you like it or not. So in comes the image management. Not that nice white teeth has anything to do with what the public thinks of you, but it does count if you are going to deny having them done. The people would definitely rather you tell the truth. It is a part of your image. Politicians are good at being ‘good’. It’s a tactic used for being persuasive. Appealing to the public with what they love the most or look for in a government will guarantee a few votes. So don’t be too hard on good ole Tony Blair.


References:

Hobsbawn, Julia (edited) Where the Truth Lies, trust and morality in PR and Journalism Atlantic Books 2006

New Media...Connect PR, Connect!

Can somebody say Facebook, Twitter and Youtube?! Yes, New media is taking over the PR industry, and the world it seems. On this day in class, my colleagues and I did a presentation on New Media and PR. I nervously stood there and went through the ways in which the PR industry use New Media tools as opposed to Traditional media tools such as newspapers, television and radio. It was surprising to note that even though the possibilities of new media are limitless, the PR industry in the UK have been very slow to adapt to these changes. A study done by Bigmouth Media revealed that 79 out of 100 companies in the UK do not use New media and only 11% of the top PR companies use blogs to communicate with clients and other stakeholders. See the chart below. This is depressing.


However, the industry needs to get with the times in order to propel itself as a ‘real’ profession. Deidre Braekenridge outlines in her book PR 2.0, the bliss of online communications. For one, she states, journalists often prefer to be emailed. They especially love to know that news releases have some interactive features such as Podcasts, videos and other informational links so that it’s easier for them to pick up on other important information.
According to James Horton (author of Online Public Relations: What we should be teaching from a practitioner’s point of view), practitioners fear technology and as a result are not able to lead in developing technology for client services. He continues by stating that the PR industry will suffer until technology is integrated in the services offered by the PR Company: it will take long, by then, he says, other communications firms will already be well down the path of using technology in new and creative ways.

The argument that PR practitioners fear anything beyond writing is somewhat silly…haven’t you heard of the Credit crunch. The internet is so accessible and most of all FREE. That’s enough reason for practitioners to gravitate towards New Media. In the words of James L. Horton Online is the present and future of PR. It is not the end of PR as we know it. It is not the beginning of a new discipline. Online is a media tool with powerful features that PR practitioners should exploit. For instance, by just answering one question on Twitter (What are you doing now?), A news story can be created in minutes. Remember that plane that went down in the Hudson River a few weeks ago? Twitter was the first to break the news with one guy Janis Krums using his iphone to tweet about the plane crashing into the Hudson River. Isnt that Phenomenal... getting the news as it occurs?!

So get to blogging fellow PR practitioners!

References:

Big Mouth Media UK PR companies missing out on digital opportunity Industry News 26 August 2008 http://www.bigmouthmedia.com/live/articles/uk-pr-companies-missing-out-on-digital-opportunit.asp/5084/
[Accessed January 24, 2009]

Horton, James L. Online Public Relations: What we should be teaching from a practitioner’s point of view for Digitally conscious: Effectively integrating Technology into Today’s Classroom
http://www.online-pr.com/Holding/DigitallyConsciousspeech.pdf [Accessed March 30, 2009]

Beaumont, Claudine. New York Plane Crash: Twitter breaks news, again. Jan. 16, 2009 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/twitter/4269765/New-York-plane-crash-Twitter-breaks-the-news-again.html [Accessed Mar. 30, 2009]

Propaganda in times of War

In war the first casualty is the truth – Philip Knightely

These words, so carefully crafted by Philip Knightely, truly reflect the manipulation that occurs in times of War. Does anyone really remember the reasons for the war on Iraq? Well, even if we do, the government tries their best to have us thinking otherwise. This is called Propaganda.

‘Propaganda connotes falsehood, lies, deceit, disinformation and duplicity – practices that opposing groups and governments accuse each other of employing’ (Wilcox et al, 227)

On this day, the class watched a feature on what took place in the beginning of the war on Iraq. The video took us through the extent to which the government of the United States and the British government attempted to conceal the truth. The video highlighted some key facts such as Sgt. Jessica Lynch ‘allegedly’ being held hostage by Iraqi forces in ‘what they call a hospital’. The account of the events as told by doctors on duty while the Sgt. was admitted differs significantly with what has been reported in the media. You see, part of getting the public to support a war is to persuade them into believing that the enemy has done something immoral. So it’s a goody, baddy situation, and Persuasion is the key ingredient.

It was further revealed in the video that Downing Street ordered journalists not to portray British soldiers as ‘fighters’ but as ‘life savers’. They were pictured playing football in the streets with children. Additionally journalists were stationed miles away from the base. This, I believe is a control mechanism used by the Government to curtail what the media reports. My question is, why have the journalists there if they can’t report what is happening?

These so called weapons of Mass destruction are yet to be found. Now millions of people are dead and we are left only to speculate about what really caused the war. This video shows all the ramblings and uncertainties and the changing of stories that occurred before and during the war.




References:

Wilcox, Dennis, Philip Ault et al Public Relations Strategies and Tactics 6th ed. Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc. 2000